Incredible Red Wines, Master Of Wine Blind Tastes Cabernet Franc

Hi everyone, welcome to my home in Northern California. Today I am doing a blind tasting on Cabernet Franc. Now if you're a fan of Cabernet Franc, obviously you're in the know. If you're not a fan of Cab Franc, I think if you listen to this video, you may end up discovering some wines that are really very, very well and worthwhile. Now first off, I think a little bit background information would be beneficial. The benchmark origins of Cab Franc tie back to France to two regions in styles that are very, very different from one another. One being from Bordeaux. There in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc for the most part plays a supporting role to some other grape varieties, mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It's typically blended also maybe with a little bit of Petit Fredo or Malbec. But in the right bank, Cabernet Franc takes much more of a lead role. Sometimes it's the predominant part of a blend. Sometimes it's a smaller part of the total blend. But in that right bank, it does play a bigger role. In a completely different style of Cabernet Franc, if you go to Loire Valley, you're going to find a style that tends to be much lighter, much fresher, shows generally more primary fruit. They're wines that are accessible at a very, very early age. And if you spend any time in Paris, for instance, you've gone to any of the bistros there, there's a good chance that you've come across Cab Franc because they do supply the bistros with a lot of their wine. In recent years, wines like Chinon have made their way into a much more of a broad market, and they're really interesting wines that are a completely different style than what you're going to find in Bordeaux. Now, some of the character of Cabernet Franc, and this is speaking in very broad generalities, comparing it to Cabernet Sauvignon, which is typically where the comparison comes into play. Cabernet Franc generally will have a bit lighter color, usually a higher profile or more perfumed fruit character, a little less tannin, and a little higher acidity. Cabernet Franc has a very long history that actually predates Cabernet Sauvignon. And in the late 1990s, there was some work done on some DNA fingerprinting to identify the actual origins or parentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was found that Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc are actually the parent vines for the present day Cabernet Sauvignon. So there is a lot of connection there. Now, before launching into the actual tasting, I do have a bit of a confession to make. For a lot of years, and I'm talking 20 years or so, I was not much of a fan of Cabernet Franc in the general sense. Sure, there are always some amazing examples out there, but in general terms, a lot of the Cabernet Franc years ago was really lean. It had an edginess, and they were not appealing wines to me in the broad sense. That has radically changed over the last several years, and I think it's really attributed to two factors. One is viticultural practices have improved, and the other is the effects of global warming. Those two things in combination have resulted in Cabernet Franc being much more ripe, rich, full, and I think in many cases, the wines are far superior than what were out there some years ago. Now, we did talk a bit about Bordeaux and Loire being the benchmark standards for Cabernet Franc, but it extends way beyond that. You'll find Cabernet Franc in a lot of other places in Europe. It shines in Tuscany. It has a strong presence up in the northeast part of Italy. Also, in many of the New World countries, it's playing a much bigger part. In California, you're starting to see more plantings of it, some in Washington State. In a place like New York State, they're producing some very good Cabernet Francs right now. South America has seen an increase in it, somewhat in South Africa, a bit in Australia, but the fact is that Cabernet Franc is expanding its reach, and the styles that are out there today are so much better than what was out there, and I'm hoping that we see some of that in the examples that we're going to be blind tasting here right now. Okay, here's blind tasting bottle number one, and immediately you can see the color on this is rather purple. It's got some good depth. The color extends to the rim of the glass. Really nice aromatics, red fruit, bright, really clean, fresh, very modern style. I've got to say, this is really an inviting version of Cabernet Franc. It's got some good depth. There's good presence on the front palate, good presence on the mid, fairly lengthy on the finish as well. Those are the three marks that I always like to tick off to see if the wine really is complete and well balanced, and this seems to do that quite well. This does not seem like a European style. The acidity is a bit lower. It's a little rounder, a little plumper. It's got a little more weight, richness, a little more of a forward character to it. I think this certainly does have some oak, and Cab Franc has a very good affinity to oak, but this has a bit of that that smoky character. These are all the secondary notes that come in through the winemaking process itself, but yeah, I think this is probably from a bit of a warmer climate. I'm thinking perhaps California. There's a lot of versions of Cab Franc now coming out of South America, some out of Chile, which can be reasonably good. Versions from Argentina have really been stellar, and this has a lot of the character that I attribute to the Cabernet Francs that I've had from Argentina. Fairly youthful vintage. I'm going to say maybe a 2018, 2019. You know, the color is red. It's got a lot of that primary fruit note to it, so I don't think this is very old. It's got some really good length to it. I think this is really a solid ball of wine. Let's see what this one's all about. All right, so starters, not too bad. Marcello, Pelleretti, Cabernet Franc, 2018, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Love this wine. It's got a lot of depth, weight, richness. According to the back label, it shows 15% alcohol. I would have never thought it was quite that high. It really hides the heat very, very well. It's got a lot of good structure to it. It does show that it's aged in French oak for 12 months, 80% aged in French oak. You do get that smoky charred character to it, which just adds some complexity and nuance. You know, this is about 20 bucks. I got to say, for the money, this is really an outstanding bottle of wine. For value, I think outstanding plus. Don't know if you're going to be able to find this out there, but this is really a beautiful example of what Cab Franc should be. Now, within Argentina, I should also note that when you look at the prices of Cabernet Franc just sold as raw fruit by growers, it's at a premium right now. There is a huge demand of Cab Franc. Cab Franc really started to come into a stronger presence in Argentina in the 1990s. For the last 30 years or so, this has been a slow build of interest in Cab Franc. Look, Argentina is certainly known for Melbeck. It's carved out a strong presence there. I got to say, if they can turn out examples like this on a regular basis, Cab Franc has got a great future in Argentina as well. On wine number two. Now, with wine one, the bar was set high. I doubt I can maintain that, but let's see what the story is on this particular wine. Completely different appearance, much less depth of color. You look out to the rim, there looks to be some level of dilution, even a little bit of an amber tone, which indicates a wine that's got some mileage on it. A lot of tertiary notes here, some minerality, a little bit of spice, maybe a slight hint of oak, but it does not have that primary fruit. This seems to be a wine that's got fairly long in terms of development. Immediately, this wine takes me to Bordeaux. I don't think this is Cabernet Franc dominant, probably more of a low in this wine. It's rather soft, it's rather direct, simple style, not a lot of length to it. It reminds me a lot of the 2017 Bordeaux's that I've been drinking, which is a solid vintage, not a great year, but a solid one, one that does not have a lot of longevity to it. Putting this in a specific place in Bordeaux is really going to be tough. I'm going to say it's one of the lesser satellite regions, maybe something like a Cote d'Ivoire, Cote d'Ivoire 2017, a bottle of wine that's probably around $20, and even for that, I think it's sound, but not all that exciting. Let's see what this is. Oh my, okay, it looks like I've undershot by a bit. It's Chateau Rosiers, Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru 2017. It shows it is about 75% Merlot, 15% Cab Franc, remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, with a retail price of 20 to 25 US dollars. I have had wines from this producer many times over the years. This is not one of the standout bottles I've had from them. I think it's decent, it's a respectable bottle, but given the price of this wine and given the price of the first one from Argentina, I would take the one from Argentina by hands down by a mile. Okay, now we are off to wine number three. Let's see what the story is here. Oh my, okay, this one has a very different story to tell. This is a wine that's got some significant age to it. The color is only moderately deep. You look down at the core, it's got a bit of fade. You get out to the rim, and it has a bit of an ambery tone to it as well. Aromatics, it's all tertiary notes. It's got a bit of that mushroomy, leathery character, some minerality. Pretty good hint of oak, but this shows no sign of youth. Immediately, my mind's going to Bordeaux on this wine. You know, it's still holding together quite well. It's got some good depth, there's some weight, there's good structure to it. Fairly long on the finish. Tannins are quite soft. Oak is definitely high quality oak. It's got that smoky, charred character, but it's perfectly integrated into the wine. Yeah, there's some depth, weight, volume to this. I think this wine's got a good 20 years on it. I'm going to say it's probably from the early 2000s. My mind immediately goes to Saint Emilion. It's got a lot of those telltale signs to it. I think this has a lot of Merlot to it. Cabernet Franc playing a bit more of a supporting role, but this is really, really good. I'm curious to see what this wine is. Yeah, this is quite impressive. Let's see. Chateau La Dominique, Saint Emilion, Grand Cru, 1998. Well, reasonably close. At least I hit the appellation, and the wine certainly does have mileage to it. I didn't go back quite as far as I should. 98 is one of those really much maligned vintages. It definitely outperformed, the right bank definitely outperformed the left bank in that particular year. This is a wine that, you know, I don't think it's going to get any better. It can probably maintain itself for a number of years yet. It's got that structure to it, but it's certainly a wine to be consumed soon. The note on the back label says it's about 75% Merlot, 15% Cab Franc, the remainder being Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a price of $80, and look, when you get wine to this age, these are really tough to hit in the blind tastings, because for one, the bottlings could be very inconsistent. You know, if I had, and I think I still do have some of these in my cellar, it wouldn't surprise me if I popped another one another month from now, and it has a different profile to it, and it's just one of those things that happens at the wine's age. But this is quite interesting, and I think I'm going to be drinking this a bit more later tonight. Be curious to see how this develops. Now off to the fourth and final wine. So far this has been going reasonably well, not exactly batting 100, but not too bad. Again, a radical change from what we had in wine three. Just the appearance of this, I can tell this wine is really youthful. It's got that red deep core to it, and the color really extends out to the rim of the glass. Ah, beautiful aromatics. You get some of that spicy note, a little bit of a coffee character to it, a little peppery spicy red fruit, good hint of oak. Ah, this smells fantastic. Oh, I tell you, I could be friends with this wine. It's got a lot of depth, weight rich, full, fairly soft on the tannins, but the structure is there. It's a wine that's got some really nice depth to it. It has a good amount of that primary fruit character with some of the secondary, especially with that introduction of the high quality oak. Trying to hit where this wine is from is going to be a bit of a challenge. Again, a New World style. You know, I could see perhaps this coming from somewhere in the U.S. I've had some interesting Cab Francs from Washington State, but this seems to be a little more lush, a little more weighty. Maybe California. Certainly a very high quality region. I think if push comes to shove, I'm going to put this one back in in Argentina. Very high end though. No idea who this producer is, but they're doing one hell of a job. Yeah, thumbs up on this. I'm going to say about a 2018 vintage. Really high quality. I can see this being maybe a $60, $70, $80 bottle of wine, but I'll put this in Argentina and I'm saying that with not much confidence. Let's see what we have here. All right, so this is a bit of an embarrassment. This is Goose Cross and this is from Yonkville, which is only about 30 minutes down the road from me. I know these people really well. I've had this wine a bunch of times. How I missed it here, I don't know, but I did. Love the wine. Don't know if this is quite 100% Cab Franc, but it shows it has a price of $80. If you know, this is $80 that I think is really well spent. So overall, not too bad on this tasting. Hit a few, missed a few. This one was a little bit of an embarrassment, but I'm going to enjoy this later tonight. Thanks for staying to the end of the video. If you haven't subscribed, please do so. Hit the bell. You'll know when the next video comes out. Also hit the like button. All these things really do matter as I'm trying to get this YouTube channel up and running. Also, if you have any suggestions for anything you'd like to see in a future video, please post it down below. I'll read all the comments. Hey, I hope you enjoyed what I went through with the Cab Franc tasting. Hit a few, missed a little bit at the end, but overall, pretty good learning experience. I hope you picked up a few things here that you found beneficial. Until next time, cheers.